- Osome Blog UAE
- RAKEZ Company Setup Costs
What Does It Really Cost to Set Up and Run a RAKEZ Company?
- Published: 23 August 2026
- 10 min read
- Company Registration, Foreigner's Guide
Ruth Dsouza
Author
Ruth Dsouza Prabhu is a content developer passionate about turning ideas into clear, compelling narratives. Drawing on her experience in marketing communications and lifestyle writing, she makes complex business topics understandable for UAE entrepreneurs. Her work spans strategy, storytelling, and thought leadership, delivering content that is both credible and impactful. Ruth’s articles empower business owners to gain actionable insights, make informed decisions, and confidently navigate their entrepreneurial journey.
The Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) is a UAE free zone known for its straightforward licensing and visa-based pricing. The headline licence price is only the starting point, though. Visa processing, document handling, and Osome's accounting support all add to that starting figure. This article provides a realistic RAKEZ cost breakdown for Years 1 and 2 across the three most common visa tiers, including which tier is actually suitable, and what's included in a RAKEZ package versus what costs extra.
Key Takeaways
- A realistic RAKEZ Year 1 cost, including setup, Osome's accounting support, and typical visa-related extras, runs from AED 14,535 for a no-visa licence to AED 31,010-36,010 for a 2-visa package.
- Osome's accounting packages are priced by annual revenue, not by visa count. Most new RAKEZ companies start on the Operate plan (AED 8,000/year, for revenue under AED 375,000) regardless of how many visas they hold.
- Year 2 costs sit close to Year 1, since RAKEZ's licence renewal fee doesn't reduce once incorporation-only paperwork is no longer needed. The main saving is Osome's one-off setup fee, which doesn't repeat.
What Does a Realistic RAKEZ Year 1 and Year 2 Cost Look Like?
RAKEZ pricing is quoted by visa allocation, meaning how many UAE residence visas the licence lets you sponsor for yourself or your team. RAKEZ's own setup fees scale with that visa count. Osome's accounting support scales separately, by annual revenue rather than visa count.
The cost for year 1
Year 1 combines RAKEZ's setup fees, Osome's accounting support, and mandatory extras like health insurance for visa holders.
0-Visa | 1-Visa | 2-Visa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RAKEZ licence, MOA, Certificate of Formation, share certificate, lease | AED 6,010 | AED 14,010 | AED 18,010 |
| Immigration card, medical test, Emirates ID, visa allocation, e-channel, residence visa | Not applicable, no visa on this tier | Included | Included |
| RAKEZ document handling/bank support fee (one-off) | AED 525 | AED 1,525 | Not itemised |
| Osome accounting, Operate plan (revenue under AED 375,000) | AED 8,000 | AED 8,000 | AED 8,000 |
| Mandatory health insurance per visa holder | Not applicable, no visa on this tier | AED 2,500-5,000 | AED 5,000-10,000 |
| Realistic Year 1 total | AED 14,535 | AED 26,035-28,535 | AED 31,010-36,010 |
Year 2 drops the one-off setup fee but keeps the licence renewal, Osome's accounting support, and health insurance, all recurring annually.
0-Visa | 1-Visa | 2-Visa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RAKEZ licence renewal | AED 6,010 | AED 14,010 | AED 18,010 |
| Osome accounting, Operate plan (if revenue stays under AED 375,000) | AED 8,000 | AED 8,000 | AED 8,000 |
| Mandatory health insurance per visa holder | Not applicable, no visa on this tier | AED 2,500-5,000 | AED 5,000-10,000 |
| Realistic Year 2 total | AED 14,010 | AED 24,510-27,010 | AED 31,010-36,010 |
What happens if revenue grows?
Osome's accounting cost isn't fixed for the life of the company. It steps up automatically once annual revenue crosses set thresholds, regardless of visa tier.
Osome Plan | Applies When Annual Revenue | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Operate | Under AED 375,000 | AED 8,000/year |
| Grow | AED 375,000-1,000,000 | AED 15,000/year |
| Scale | AED 1,000,000-4,000,000 | AED 30,000/year |
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Who Is RAKEZ Actually Best Suited For, Cost-Wise?
The right visa tier comes down to how many people need residency through the company, not just overall budget.
- The 0-visa tier suits founders who already hold UAE residency through another route, or who don't need to sponsor a visa at all. At AED 14,535 all-in for Year 1, it's the cheapest way to get a compliant licence with accounting support included.
- The 1-visa tier suits a solo owner-operator who needs their own UAE residence visa. At AED 26,035-28,535 all-in for Year 1, it remains one of the more affordable single-visa options among UAE freezones.
- The 2-visa tier suits founders bringing on a co-founder or an early hire from day one. At AED 31,010-36,010 all-in for Year 1, the visa allocation adds relatively little to the licence and accounting cost, since up to 4 visas fit within a flexi-desk before a facility upgrade is needed.
Across all three, the pattern holds: the licence fee alone understates the real cost by a wide margin, and Osome's accounting support, plus mandatory extras like health insurance, are what most founders forget to budget for upfront.
What Do RAKEZ Packages Include and Leave Out?
RAKEZ packages bundle more than the licence itself, but a few common costs sit outside every tier. The table below shows what's covered and what to budget for separately.
Item | Included in Base Package? | Typical Extra Cost If Not |
|---|---|---|
| Trade licence, MOA, Certificate of Formation | Yes | Not applicable, always included |
| Flexi-desk or shared office (covers up to 4 visas) | Yes | Private office or warehouse, priced by size and location |
| Emirates ID, medical test, e-channel registration | Yes, for visa holders | Not applicable, always included for visa holders |
| Up to 3 licensed business activities | Yes | AED 1,000-2,500 per additional activity, possible full licence reissue if outside the original activity group |
| Health insurance for visa holders | No, arranged and paid separately | AED 2,500-5,000 per person, per year |
| Osome accounting and compliance support | No, added as a separate service | AED 8,000/year upward, by revenue tier |
| Audit | No, unless the activity requires one | Varies by provider and company size |
| Mainland dual-licensing | No, a separate registration | Separate licence or branch registration cost |
| Nationality-based pre-approval (where applicable) | No, required only for certain nationalities | Pre-approval fee of roughly AED 450, typically deducted from the final setup cost if approval is granted and the company proceeds; approval isn't guaranteed |
Defining your full activity list and visa count before incorporation avoids the two costliest surprises: activity reclassification and under-provisioning on visas.
How Long Does RAKEZ Incorporation Take?
These ranges assume paperwork and due diligence are completed promptly; incomplete documentation or activity approvals can extend any stage below.
Stage | Typical Time |
|---|---|
| Licence issuance, Instant Licence option | 1 business day |
| Licence issuance, standard processing | 3-5 business days |
| Visa processing, per visa (entry permit, medical, Emirates ID biometrics) | 1-2 weeks |
| Bank account opening, shareholder attends in person | 2-6 weeks |
| Bank account opening, remote-only application | 8-10 weeks longer than in-person, with a higher rejection rate |
| Realistic total, in-person applicant, to a fully operational company | 4-8 weeks |
A no-visa licence alone can be active within days if visas aren't needed, since it skips both the visa processing and bank account stages entirely.
Locking these details down before you apply is the single biggest lever for avoiding extra cost later. Osome's business setup specialists review your planned activities and visa count against RAKEZ's package structure upfront, so you're paying for what you actually need the first time.
What Do Banking and Payments Cost for a RAKEZ Company?
Opening a UAE corporate bank account is usually free, but most banks require a minimum balance, commonly ranging from AED 5,000 to AED 50,000, depending on the bank and account tier. RAKEZ's own document handling and bank support fee, where itemised, adds AED 525 to AED 1,525 to the setup cost depending on visa tier.
Payment gateways for online invoicing or ecommerce typically charge a setup fee plus a per-transaction percentage, and costs vary by provider rather than by freezone. Founders processing international payments often add a multi-currency account or fintech platform alongside a traditional UAE bank account, which carries its own monthly or per-transaction fees rather than a one-off setup cost.
What Are the Ongoing Tax and Compliance Costs?
Setup is a one-time cost, but a RAKEZ company carries recurring tax and compliance obligations every year it operates. Some of these depend on where you're based personally, and some apply to the company regardless of where its founders live.
Home-country obligations
Depending on where you're tax resident, your home country may still require reporting or taxation of income earned through a foreign company, regardless of where that company is incorporated. Some countries apply worldwide income taxation, controlled foreign company rules, or beneficial ownership reporting requirements to residents who own or control an overseas entity. It's worth checking your specific home-country obligations with a local tax advisor before assuming a RAKEZ company is fully outside your home tax system.
Recurring annual compliance costs
Beyond RAKEZ's own licence renewal, a company should budget for:
- Osome's accounting, bookkeeping, and tax filing support. Starts at AED 8,000/year on the Operate plan and steps up to Grow (AED 15,000/year) or Scale (AED 30,000/year) as revenue crosses AED 375,000 and AED 1,000,000.
- Corporate tax registration and filing: Every RAKEZ entity must register for corporate tax on the EmaraTax portal within 3 months of incorporation, even companies that expect to owe 0% under the Qualifying Free Zone Person rules. Late registration carries a flat AED 10,000 penalty regardless of how much tax is actually owed. The return itself, and any tax due, is payable within 9 months of the company's financial year-end.
- VAT filing, where the company is registered. Included from the Grow plan upward; Operate doesn't include VAT registration or filing.
- Audit fees where the business activity or size requires one.
- Visa and Establishment Card renewals are recurring annually for each visa holder.
The AED 10,000 late registration penalty applies even if you owe zero tax, so registering on time matters more than the filing itself. Osome's corporate tax filing service registers your RAKEZ company on EmaraTax and manages the annual return, so this deadline never gets missed.
What Hidden RAKEZ Costs Should You Budget For?
The figures above cover what's fixed and known upfront. The costs that catch founders out are usually the ones mentioned once during setup, then forgotten by the time they're actually due. Before finalising a RAKEZ budget, it's worth checking:
- Have you locked in your full activity list before applying, so you're not paying AED 1,000-2,500 per activity added later, or risking a full licence reissue?
- Have you budgeted health insurance per visa holder as a recurring annual cost, not a one-off Year 1 line?
- Have you registered for corporate tax on EmaraTax within the deadline, even if you expect to owe 0%, to avoid the flat AED 10,000 late penalty?
- Have you planned for 4 to 8 weeks to full operational readiness, including banking, rather than counting the company as "live" the day the licence is issued?
- Does your revenue forecast cross AED 375,000 or AED 1,000,000 within the year? If so, budget for the Osome Grow or Scale tier rather than assuming Operate pricing holds all year.
- If you expect to grow past 4 visas, have you priced a private office or warehouse upgrade separately from the licence renewal?
How Osome Can Help With RAKEZ Accounting and Compliance
Incorporation is only the first cost. What follows, corporate tax registration, VAT filing where applicable, bookkeeping, and audit support, is where most of the ongoing admin actually sits. Osome's UAE accounting packages, Operate, Grow, and Scale, are built to move with a RAKEZ company as it grows, pairing accounting software with expert review so filings and renewals don't slip.
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Summary
Treat the number on a RAKEZ licence page as a floor, not a final figure. The gap between that number and what you actually pay comes from a predictable set of additions, visa-linked extras, accounting support, and the revenue thresholds that shift your Osome plan, not from hidden fees. Build those into your budget from day one, and the Year 2 renewal invoice won't be a surprise.